Multidyne Medical Waste Management has lost the latest -- and possibly last -- round in its bid to build two incinerators to burn hazardous medical waste in southwest Fort Lauderdale.

The 4th District Court of Appeal on Wednesday overturned a Circuit Court order that would have forced Fort Lauderdale officials to issue permits so Multidyne could burn hospital-type garbage in an industrial area near the Croissant Park, River Oaks and Edgewood neighborhoods.

The ruling could end a yearlong uproar over Multidyne. The company has two weeks to ask the appeals court to reconsider its decision.

The appeals court ruled that the Fort Lauderdale City Commission acted within its powers in denying Multidyne permission to operate the incinerators.

The ruling overturned a Jan. 30 decision by Broward Circuit Judge Robert Andrews, who had said that city commissioners acted illegally.

Peter K. Spitz, Multidyne`s president, did not return two telephone messages on Wednesday. A receptionist said he was away and could not be reached for comment.

Multidyne attorney Gary Maisel did not respond to three telephone requests for comment.

Residents had loudly objected to Multidyne`s burners, along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks at 2941 SW First Terrace, saying they feared long-term dangers from breathing smoke and vapors coming from smokestacks with no pollution controls.

In their ruling, the three appellate judges in West Palm Beach wrote: ``In all candor, if we were to weigh the professional expertise of one side against the other, Multidyne might well come out on top.

``However, the test is not whether one side produced more experts than the other,`` but whether citizens raised legitimate concerns that their health would be endangered by Multidyne`s plant.

``We must conclude that the circuit judge substituted his own judgment ... for that of the (City) Commission, which is contrary to law,`` the appeals judges wrote.

Ray Gavin, who helped organize his Croissant Park neighborhood to fight Multidyne, said the ruling was a welcome surprise.

``We didn`t know how this would come out, so I`m kind of in shock,`` Gavin said. ``I think it`s a victory for all the people in this community who showed concern about the health and welfare of the people.``

Said Barbara Curtis, who is on the board of the Edgewood Civic Association: ``This makes my day. (The appeals judges) really cut to the heart of the matter.``

``What this decision does is recognize that citizens are intelligent,`` said Brian Hunt, southeast toxics campaigner for Greenpeace, the environmental group that also fought Multidyne. ``The appeals court recognized that the City Commission can, and must, listen to its citizens over the `hired guns` of a company.``

City Commissioner Jim Naugle said the appeals court decision affirms that the city was right to listen to its residents` concerns.

``We sure hope that incinerator never burns anything,`` Naugle said.

Multidyne outraged residents and community leaders with an advertisement in Waste Age, an industry magazine, urging companies to ship their biohazardous waste to be burned ``in sunny Fort Lauderdale.``

That ignited a furor across Broward County that prompted environmental officials to start rewriting and toughening regulations on how medical waste -- such as blood bags, bed pans and body parts -- is handled.

CHRONOLOGY

How the controversy over Multidyne Medical Waste Management developed:

-- Aug. 28, 1989 -- Florida`s Department of Environmental Regulation issues a permit for an air pollution source at 2941 SW First Terrace.

-- Aug. 30 -- Tougher state pollution regulations go into effect. Because its permit was approved before Aug. 30, Multidyne would not have to comply until 1992.

-- October -- Multidyne places an ad in an industry magazine that encourages companies to ship medical waste to be burned in ``sunny Fort Lauderdale.``

-- Oct. 19 -- About 25 residents persuade Fort Lauderdale`s Planning and Zoning Board that the site of the proposed incinerators is too close to populated areas. The board rejects Multidyne`s application.

-- Nov. 21 -- The City Commission also refuses Multidyne`s request to operate after about 75 residents and environmentalists protest at a second hearing.

-- Dec. 19 -- Multidyne sues in Broward County Circuit Court.

-- Jan. 30, 1990 -- Circuit Judge Robert Andrews orders the city to allow the incinerators to operate.

-- March 20 -- The City Commission appeals Andrews` order. The County Commission votes to join in the appeal.

-- April -- Staff at Broward County`s Environmental Quality Control Board determine that Multidyne`s county permits to operate have lapsed. County Commission and EQCB set a moratorium on issuing new medical waste incinerator permits until regulations are tightened.

-- June -- A special committee of the EQCB and the County Commission calls for the toughest medical waste disposal regulations in the nation.

-- Sept. 19 -- The 4th District Court of Appeal reverses the Circuit Court order, saying Fort Lauderdale had the authority to block Multidyne from opening.